Pennywise begins to heal as milestone arrives

Relationships can be difficult. Being in a band is no different. And so it is that locally beloved Hermosa Beach punk quartet Pennywise had to take a few giant leaps backward, indulge in some serious reflection, as well as sessions of honest and at times painful communication, and swallow a lot of pride. That’s what it took to bring these four strong personalities back to the stage after nearly four acrimonious years apart.

It was just before Halloween when Pennywise dropped by KROQ’s Kevin & Bean morning show to excitedly share that vocalist Jim Lindberg had returned and that the quartet would celebrate its reunion - and its 25th anniversary – with two shows (tonight and Saturday) at the Hollywood Palladium.

When Lindberg announced his departure in August 2009, the split seemed amicable despite rumblings in the punk community of a nasty blowout. It certainly wasn’t because the singer, now 47, was thinking of retiring. He quickly contributed to The Other F Word, a documentary based on his 2007 book Punk Rock Dad: No Rules, Just Real Life, and formed another band, the Black Pacific, whose self-titled debut arrived in September 2010.

The rest of Pennywise – guitarist Fletcher Dragge, bassist Randy Bradbury and drummer Byron McMackin – carried on business as usual, picking up a new frontman, Zoli Teglas of O.C. punk outfit Ignite. The band continued to tour extensively, releasing its 10th studio set, All or Nothing, on Epitaph Records last May.

But by the end of the year Teglas had suffered a serious back injury and decided to leave the band and heal. With Pennywise’s future was once again uncertain, it was time for someone to extend an olive branch in hopes of reconciliation.

"I was with a friend of mine on my birthday," Lindberg recalls, "and I said that the one regret I did have was: How did a band who has a song called ‘Bro Hymn’ and so many songs about friendship and unity – how did we screw that up?"

During a phone interview last week he admitted there had been zero communication with his old mates during his time away.

"People have to understand that it wasn’t just about me leaving the band," he explained. "Here in the South Bay there was a big group of friends that were very much caught up in the divorce. Pennywise was about unity and we brought together very different groups of people, whether it was surfers, punk rockers, college kids, delinquent kids - all of these people from all walks of life had joined our community. And when I left it split everyone up.

"There were a lot of reasons I had at the time for leaving that I didn’t go into, and still don’t want to go into, because I don’t believe in airing our dirty laundry. It’s difficult for four people to compromise for over 20 years. It got to a point where I needed a break – we all needed a break. But for someone as strong-willed as Fletcher, that wasn’t in the cards."

Dragge, known for wild offstage antics as much as crushing his guitar onstage, says he took a hard look in the mirror before finally reaching out to his longtime friend. It was the first of numerous conversations, everyone coming clean about reasons for the breakdown, some dating back to how the group dealt with the suicide of original Pennywise bassist Jason Thirsk in 1996.

"We had all been through a lot," Dragge says, "and I think losing Jason was a big part of us separating. I know for Jim there were such feelings of guilt. There had to be some healing and people taking responsibility.

"I had to take responsibility for being a crazy nightmare ... try not to pass off the blame on other people and admit that I had a role in this, too. Once you can do all of that in any kind of relationship, you can move forward and have good times ahead. Right now things are really good."

So good, in fact, that as band therapy continues, more shows are being added, including an appearance at the sixth annual Musink Tattoo Convention & Music Festival in Costa Mesa on March 9.

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